The Big Picture

Forgetting Sarah Marshall villainizes its titular character, Sarah Marshall, without properly telling her side of the story, making it difficult to accept the film’s final conclusion. The film misses an opportunity to explore the complexities of a failed relationship by failing to fully acknowledge Peter’s role in the demise, instead portraying him as the victim and Sarah as the villain. The double standard in the film is evident as Peter is rewarded with a new loving relationship, while Sarah is left miserable and portrayed as pathetic and unlovable. The movie treats Sarah as a catalyst for Peter’s growth and happiness, rather than a fully fleshed-out character.

Though Forgetting Sarah Marshall is one of the best rom-coms of the past two decades, it nevertheless has one major flaw – the way it overtly villainizes the titular character. Ditching the schmaltz often associated with the genre and trading it in for genuine human emotion and a healthy dose of raunchiness, Forgetting Sarah Marshall was a breath of fresh air when it came out in 2008 and remains as such fifteen years later. Nevertheless, the movie has a bone to pick with Sarah Marshall (Kristen Bell), making no attempts to properly tell her side of the story. Her actions in the film are painful, but the extreme one-sidedness of the story makes it difficult to accept the film’s final conclusion, which can ultimately be summarized by saying “Sure, Peter had an equal part to play in the demise of his relationship with Sarah, but he deserves happiness whereas Sarah deserves to be punished for the foreseeable future for her part”.

How Does ‘Forgetting Sarah Marshall’ Do Sarah Marshall Dirty?
Image via Universal Pictures

Ironically, Forgetting Sarah Marshall works so well because both Peter and Sarah are equally flawed. While Sarah’s actions initially seem unrelatable and overly cruel, her character (and their relationship) is given extra layers when she explains to Peter (Jason Segel) the lengths she went to to keep their relationship intact. She goes on a heart-breaking tangent, revealing the various seminars attended, books read, and therapists seen to recover what was left of what was ultimately an irretrievably broken union. As she breaks down, Peter is forced to face the things he did or rather didn’t do, that contributed to the end of their five-year relationship.

At this point in the film, it seems as if Forgetting Sarah Marshall will take an unexpectedly mature left turn. There is a poignancy and nuance in the scene described above that is deeply atypical for an often fluffy genre. Jason Segel gives his performance a real vulnerability and sense of realization in this scene, even if it is only for a few shots and later squandered by the way that Peter reacts to Sarah’s wanting to reignite their romance. Peter seems to understand and see Sarah for the first time when she’s explaining that his lack of effort and overall disinterest in life led her to seek outside companionship. While the movie never had to excuse or even forgive Sarah for cheating on Peter, the years of hurt and lack of love are evident, coming from both parties and aimed at each other.

Peter is clearly guilty of negligence, spending a large portion of their relationship disinterested in participating in life with Sarah and spending weeks at a time in sweatpants. Instead of owning up to his own role in the failure of their relationship, Peter jokes that the only reason she was upset was that his sweatpants were from Costco and not Sean John. While this can be seen as Peter deflecting, it simply makes him look like an overgrown man-child who doesn’t want to take responsibility. Unfortunately, this is an unfortunately missed opportunity to explore how two well-meaning individuals can hurt each other through selfishness without even trying, revealing the harsh realities of keeping a long-term romantic relationship alive and well.

‘Forgetting Sarah Marshall’ Rewards Peter & Punishes Sarah
Image via Universal Pictures

Forgetting Sarah Marshall is told almost exclusively from Peter’s point of view, so to some extent it absolutely makes sense that it would be more sympathetic toward his character. However, after the scene during which Peter comes to the realization that he is not the sole victim in the situation, it would have been beneficial for his character to have shown some amount of grace toward Sarah. The fact that he comes so close to having sex with Sarah right after beginning a new, though undefined relationship with Rachel (Mila Kunis) shows that he hasn’t progressed as much as she should have. Rachel’s reaction is totally natural and understandable, though she shows him the grace, patience, and understanding that Peter is unwilling to give Sarah.

The movie is especially mean to Sarah, going so far as to make sure that she is miserable throughout, and that she really gets what’s coming to her. The movie ends with her being dumped by Aldous (Russell Brand), which does seem appropriate for the way she handles her breakup with Peter. She is undeniably a shallow character, but she is clearly in desperate need of validation, and the lack of concern and necessary attention from Peter ultimately leads her into the very conceited, douchey arms of Aldous Snow, a rock star who makes her feel alive once again. Sarah is just as in need of companionship and love as Peter, who, as we’ve established, is equally guilty of sabotaging their relationship. Nevertheless, the movie dwells seemingly endlessly on Sarah’s suffering, framing it in a satisfactory light. Instead of treating Sarah like a person, we are forced to look at her as pathetic and unlovable, faking orgasms to get back at Peter and losing her livelihood as an actress. Peter on the other hand is treated to winning over Rachel, a charming, beautiful, funny, and empathetic individual who forgives and understands his mistakes. Rachel has no desire to punish Peter further, she knows his mistakes don’t define him.

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The Film’s Conclusion Reveals a Double Standard

Ultimately what is most troubling about Forgetting Sarah Marshall is that Peter, the audience surrogate, quite literally tells Sarah to her face that she is the devil, signaling to the audience what the movie thinks of her character. There is no redemption arc for her, even though it is made abundantly clear that she recognizes how she manipulated, abused, and lied to Peter. While Peter similarly recognizes the problems with his behavior during their relationship, he continues to play the victim and the movie rewards him for it.

The fact that Sarah never reaches any kind of peace and is instead simply made the butt of a joke at the very end of the movie (ahem, Animal Instincts) shows that the movie was not interested in her as a person, to begin with, but instead as a catalyst for Peter’s own growth and eventual happiness. The movie is at its sweetest and most human when it focuses on the burgeoning relationship between Peter and Rachel. Segel and Kunis have excellent chemistry and truly carry what would unfortunately be little more than a cinematic exercise in vindication. Peter is a lovable loser, but the movie’s animosity towards Sarah Marshall is not a good look.